http://s740.photobucket.com/albums/xx42/chermes/

This is the river we ran last Saturday, Dec 5. Water level was low, approx 850 CFS. Group was large. If you care to look, I'm in an orange kayak, with a red helmet and a wooden paddle.

The Big Ape Dominates Again
Green River Narrows, NC

(this is the main drop of Gorilla)

"The river's flow magnifies the consequences of all decisions and all mistakes; it is the flow of time itself. Nowhere else do you see so clearly how one small detail can cascade into the future with terrible consequences." -Doug Ammons

( This is the story of my only attempt to run this class V rapid, written shortly afterward, in 1996 I think... I'm happy to report that this and other documents were recovered file from my old computer. )

Five of us ran this creeky upper section of the Clackamas today. There were no other boaters on the section. Soggy Sneakers says it is runnable when the Clack is above 3,000 CFS. It was 600 today, and still enough water. Yes, it was low. Lowest, busiest, rockiest run I've done in Oregon yet. I like it. I was happy to see the Oregon boaters working hard to get around some of those rocks. There are only maybe 8 real horizon lines, all smallish drops. The last one has a hole that would get considerably worse with more water. It claimed a swimmer today, low as it was. No one in the group knew names for any of the rapids. The biggest one looked pretty bad from the road, but from river level I saw a line so I ran it. One of the guys ran it behind me. The other three portaged. It was shady in there and I had a hard time getting good photo eddies at some of the drops....and the group was moving fast enough that I couldn't get ahead of the group. So lots went unphotographed. I didn't care. I had lots of fun. We stopped on river left at Austin hotsprings and I sat in the steam tent. The spring was too hot to touch. =-]
( a couple more pix )

A young man name of Tyler Bradt made the run: a 180 footer in Washington state. He did it on April 21st, and the video isn't out yet. If you are curious, or have an opinion about the sanity of a person who attempts (and succeeds at) such an endeavor, they are interested in your vote and comments here.

Kayak Session is French published, and quite beautiful. They usually don't put entire articles online but they put this one up because so many people were looking for it. (I notice today that there are a LOT more google image results for Lars today than there were on Monday.) Generally to see any of this magazine you must subscribe to the paper edition. The paper is quality and the photos are fantastic...we call it "paddle porn". If you're into kayaking, this is great stuff. Even people who know nothing about it really enjoy the photography. I used to subscribe and probably will again someday.

I learned of his passing from a friend on facebook. He was airlifted out of Grand Canyon last October with acute abdominal pain, and died last Friday night (3/13/09) of pancreatic cancer. Lars was a California boater, a formidable athlete, and a down-to-earth nice guy. Handsome, too. I met him only in passing, but among river runners he is a Legend. He is the only person I know of that has run he Grand Canyon of the Toulumne in Yosemite National Park, and also I believe he paddled the gnarly drops where the Merced River exits Yosemite valley and cascades through a morraine. Lars Holbeck took paddling to a level that few others could imagine, much less accomplish.
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I was 11 years old, it was 1977. My father had bought me a mark IV kayak cut down to child size. It was fiberglass, red on top and white on the bottom. It was pointy and fast. It was light; I could lift it.

My legs were already gangly and long, and my feet were jammed down into the child size boat in an uncomfortable way. My dad was in his canoe. He kept trying to instruct me by yelling from his canoe. I was overwhelmed. The river was mild and slow, but I was slower and out of control.
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Just started reading Deep Survival, and already it has grabbed me. The author Laurence Gonzales knows about the brain, about memory and emotion and the ways that we humans operate. I don't entirely agree with his presentation of brain function--it is a little simplistic--but overall it is a useful framework. I'm on page 67 at the moment, and there are a couple of quotes I'd like to record here:
( quotes and ruminations )

Yesterday Kathy and I made the trip up the Columbia River gorge to Hood River, paid the dollar toll to cross the Columbia and headed to the White Salmon. We stopped by the takeout first, because I had not seen it and I was to be the one who would drive and hitchhike the shuttle. My previous trip to the White Salmon had involved running only the section known as the "Middle" which begins at BZ Corner and ends at Husum Falls. I had heard about the "Lower" as being just a few more miles of pleasant class II, and wanted to see it. The run to Husum is short anyway, so why not run 7-8 miles of river instead of only 4.5?
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Went paddling with Susan again today. The river was running about 900 CFS, which is headed toward low water. Susan has a torn hamstring and was more uncomfortable than usual in her boat, but the water was the lowest we've seen it yet, so it balanced out. We're getting comfortable paddling together. It was a lovely warm day.

I used the lightning paddle that my friend R built, and it was so light and easy! I rolled three times on each side at the put-in and confirmed what I already know, that the wooden paddle I have been using makes it harder to roll. We started catching more eddies in this run....it's just getting low enough to HAVE lots of eddies. I guess I am a low water boater, because all those eddies make me happy. I am still not satisfied with my kayak. I guess I should find another one that I won't complain about every time I use it. I wish for the one that I left behind in Flagstaff, in T&T's garage, my old Inazone 240. So what if it has a big dent in the hull?
( other happenings )

Yesterday morning Kathy picked me up and we headed over to the Columbia River Gorge, crossing the toll bridge at Hood River and finding our way to the takeout. The falls is right at the takeout, so we scouted it from the bridge. We left Rick's car at the takeout and headed to the putin, BZ something. The level was 2 and a quarter, which is the high end of the levels that these boaters consider good to go. Any higher and it would be very fast with few eddies and stout holes. Any lower and it would be pleasant eddy hopping without push. At this flow it was bankfull and slightly pushy, but only when it was narrow. There were lots of eddies but the mid-river ones were small and often behind rocks that were just below the water's surface, making them hard to see from upstream. The run is BZ Corner to Husum, 5 miles, 90 feet per mile.
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Back now. Was a very fine weekend adventure. The McKenzie River is a lot like the Nantahala, fast and cold and fresh clear green. We visited Cougar Hotsprings (4 pools, clothing optional, 1/4 mile hike, near the Reservoir, $5/head to the USFS to get in) and did a hike to the top of Castle Mountain. Susan rode her bike down from Castle and for once was on a trail all by herself. She also rode about 25 miles of the McKenzie River trail, which is a heavily used singletrack. I hiked to places that I could jump naked into the river or creeks. We paddled from the Paradise Campground down to the covered bridge in Rainbow, about 9 miles class II continuous. Lots of great surfing waves and some nice holes too. I got the feel of the boat again, was no longer afraid, was able to frolick properly and catch waves on the fly. The flow I'd guess was 900-1,000 at Paradise, more like 1,200-1,500 at the covered bridge, as the tribs were gushing. Best campsites at Paradise are 19, 51, 54, 55, 56 (river access). A good boating store in Eugene is Oregon River Sports, they did us right. http://www.oregonriversports.com/

This is the bottom two pools of Cougar hotspring.

Susan and I floated "Fish to Bob's Hole" today. It's a short class III section. When I ran this section with Carol and Joel during the Riverfest the water was much higher and the run was mostly washed out. Today it was well developed with lots of waves and holes and funny water too. I did two combat rolls right away, one after I got a nearly vertical stern squirt at the putin, and another when I was rushing to offer a bow to Susan when she flipped, and got flipped during my rescue attempt. I rolled up to find her wet exiting, but luckily the shore was not far and we were able to get her out quickly.

I felt shaky in the boat the whole time. Just not stable, not in touch, not secure. The water kept tossing me around and I did not have any confidence in my ability to just plain old stay right side up. My combat rolls were working, but they weren't strong. I'm not the boater I used to be. Bob's Hole looked just fine but I had no desire to go in there.

The flow was about 2,800 and Larry and I floated 9 miles from a state park down to a county park called Barton. There were many class II rapids, but not many eddies, and only a few surfable waves. The day was cloudy and warm. Hardly anybody was out there in boats, but there were quite a few fishermen along the shores. We saw a fawn swimming across a channel, lots of blue herons, a few ospreys, lots of Canada geese. It was nice to be on the water again.

The next 6 mile section downstream is called Barton to Carver and is even easier than the section we did.

I couldn't study anymore. I read the middle half of The Mastery of Love this evening while the sun was still shining into the Crow's Nest, then went for a walk just before it set. Ruiz's writings set my mind at ease. My fear abated, and my love was shining out. I followed the directions that felt right, running at first because the pace of the first song on my ipod was a slow lope. I actually ran for three minutes and felt pretty good, other than slight pain in my left hip. My gut is extra empty from the colonic yesterday, and I felt loose and light after a smoothie for dinner. I looped around and ended up crossing Powell to the north instead of returning home across the wooden bridge over the railroad tracks. On the north side of Powell my heart felt lighter, I don't know why. ( There was a whole new neighborhood to explore. )

Ran the Molalla River today with 7 Oregon paddlers. It's a class III-IV run, from Turner Bridge to Glen Avon Bridge, 8.7 miles. More commonly known as the Three Bears run. The three largest rapids are Daddy Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. Baby bear chewed on me but I escaped by shoving myself away from the sucking hole with my paddle against the rock.

( not much more, river notes )

Yesterday, starting at noon, I took my Embudo kayak to the boatramp that is just downstream from Mary S Young state park and launched. I paddled upstream, I think about a mile, to the falls. It was a very interesting paddle. I stopped under the I-205 bridge because there was a sunny beach there where no one else was. It was kind of loud, but I managed to talk on the phone for about an hour, until I started to get really cold. I didn't realize it, but the falls is just around the corner from there.

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My back is sore from the boat ride yesterday. There were a lot of wakes and the boat would often jump up and slam down. I stood for most of the ride because I could absorb the shocks better with my legs, but I got tired toward the end and sat down more. Sometimes the jolt of landing on my ass after a big wave was so hard that it made me grunt like a body hit.
( River Ruminations )

Yesterday my friends Leland and Andria (and their wolf dog) passed through Flagstaff. We go back, in fact I knew both of them before they met each other. This time they are headed to the Left Coast to paddle for the summer. Their paddling tour begins at the Kern river, and then goes north as the summer progresses. I think they plan to head home from Canada in August. They should be kayaking tomorrow. It's all a business expense, all this travelling and kayaking. They write guidebooks about rivers, and make yoga videos for climbers/paddlers/hikers/bicyclists, and sell them at http://www.brushymountainpublishing.com.


This is Leland running a medium sized rapid.
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The fest lasted for four days with three shows per day, multiple films or presentations per show. I picked four shows to attend, the evening on Friday, midday of Saturday and morning and evening on Sunday. While my choice of shows seems fairly random, on Sunday night I learned that I had missed every single show that the film fest panels had chosen as best in genre.
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